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Wednesday, September 6, 2006 11:49 PM CDT
Oakland coal project ready to take next step
By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
rstroud@jg-tc.com
OAKLAND -- The developer of a proposed coal-to-diesel plant near Oakland has almost received preliminary commitments of enough local coal to take the project to the next step.
That step would be winning the approval of the Embarras Valley Coal Association, which would provide locally mined coal for the plant. The association has been recruiting additional property owners to get the 20-year supply of coal wanted by the American Clean Coal Fuels of Vancouver, Wash.
American Clean Coal Fuels President Stephen Johnson said the company had preliminary commitments for a 15-year supply when it began considering Oakland earlier this year as a plant site. He said the association has since recruited enough additional members to secure a supply for approximately 18 years.
“I think we will be at our 20-year target fairly shortly,” Johnson said. “I don’t believe we will have any problems reaching that target.”
Johnson has said the plant would convert 4.3-million tons of coal into 385 million gallons of synthetic diesel fuel annually and create 600 full-time jobs. The plant would use coal gasification technology similar to the proposed FutureGen coal-to-electricity plant for which Mattoon, Tuscola and two Texas sites are vying.
The Embarras Valley Coal Association encompasses an area that runs from Hugo in the northwest to Isabel in the southeast, crossing Douglas, Coles and Edgar county lines.
Coal association Chairman Joe McCoskey of Hindsboro said once a 20-year supply is possible, the company would then need to win commitment from the association board and then from the association’s more than 150 member property owners. He said the proposal would have to win a two-thirds vote, in terms of the acreage entered in the association, to be approved.
Once the coal supply is secured, Johnson said the company would get its private financing in place and begin the siting process with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. He said the coal would be mined below ground
McCoskey said the association was formed 28 years ago to help members negotiate a lease that is good economically and environmentally for the coal under the surface of their properties.
“Naturally, land owners are not going to want to do anything to hurt their surface,” McCoskey said.
One of the aims of the lease with the American Clean Coal Fuels would be to prevent subsidence of surface soil or other damage, McCoskey said. The lease would give the association authority to have the mines periodically inspected, he added.
Johnson said the company would be served best by meeting its obligations under the lease, and federal law, to protect the surface land. He said the company would otherwise lose its right to mine the coal.
“Losing our access to the coal supply would have very bad consequences. As we go through the mine planning process, and as we actually mine, we are going to make very sure that any and all reclamation work is done in a timely and workmanlike manner, and the productivity of the overlying land is well protected,” Johnson said.
The plant would reportedly need at least 20-million gallons of biodiesel per year to blend with its fuels for lubricity purposes. That would require 13.7 billion bushels of soybeans per year to produce that amount of biodiesel.
Johnson said the company would have further motive for protecting local surface land if it ends up building a biodiesel facility in-house. He said the plant would then be relying on that same land to supply it with soybeans or canola for biodiesel production.
“Corporate citizenship and environmental stewardship are two of our core guiding principles. It is part of the ethos of our company, and we will stick to those principles throughout all stages of this project,” Johnson said.
Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 348-5734.
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Stephen wrote on Jul 17, 2006 8:22 AM: